Trafigura and Tether Are Discussing USDT Usage in Fuel Stations

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(Bloomberg) — Commodity trading house Trafigura Group Pte Ltd. is in talks with Tether Inc. about a pilot project to use its stablecoin at fuel stations.

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The pilot would focus on facilitating payments in petrol stations operated by Trafigura’s fuel distribution arm Puma Energy in El Salvador, according to people familiar with the matter, who said the discussions are at an early stage and subject to regulatory approvals.

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Tether declined to comment. A spokesperson for Puma Energy said the firm “regularly explores new payment options to improve customer convenience and meet evolving payment preferences.”

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Discussions about the El Salvador project “remain at an exploratory technical stage,” the spokesperson added.

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The pilot in El Salvador, a hub for the crypto industry, is the first known collaboration involving stablecoin usage between Tether, issuer of USDT, and a major commodity trader. It comes as the crypto giant ramps up its push into the natural resources sector.

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Previously, Tether has said it financed a crude oil deal between an oil major and a commodity trader without naming either and without specifying whether the transaction was done using USDT or in dollars.

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In addition to stockpiling about $20 billion worth of gold and investing in mining firms, Tether has explored since at least 2024 the idea of lending out its billions in profits to commodities traders. Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino said in November that the company planned to “dramatically” expand that lending business after already extending $1.5 billion in loans.

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Yet while cash-strapped traders have shown interest in borrowing dollars from Tether’s reserves, stablecoins themselves have seen only limited use in the commodities sector.

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Trafigura executives and other traders are looking at how stablecoins could speed up payments for commodities such as petrol in dollar-scarce countries, where exchange rates can fluctuate sharply, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

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That matters now because higher oil prices are worsening dollar shortages in poorer nations, many of which are also major net fuel importers.

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Under the pilot, El Salvadorian consumers would be able to pay for fuel or snacks with USDT, which would be converted by an intermediary into dollars for Trafigura’s Puma, the people said.

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Stablecoins are a kind of cryptocurrency pegged to an established asset, most often the US dollar. Their value is typically managed using a reserve of cash-like assets, such as US Treasuries. 

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Buoyed by regulatory advances under US President Donald Trump, a vocal crypto supporter, stablecoins saw explosive growth last year. Total transaction volumes for such tokens soared 72% to $33 trillion in 2025, according to data compiled by Artemis Analytics. 

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Tether has reaped the benefits, booking $10 billion in profits in 2025 as the market value of USDT surged 38% to about $190 billion, according to CoinGecko. At the same time, the company has aggressively expanded the scope of its investing business, pushing into everything from brain implants to sports teams. 

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